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Mithril and the Beginning of a New Year - Niccolò Ceria

January 09, 2013 -
Niccolò Ceria

Hi everybody! After this period of festivity I write a blogspot to tell about Mithril and new projects which I would like to try during this winter, although the temperatures in these days seem more like vernal. The fall in Ticino was really empty of successes concerning my goals set at the end of the summer, but the year ended beautifully for me. After the lines climbed in Varazze and in Donnas I came back once to Cresciano to find a project to work. This was Mithril, a little roof just below “la prou”, opened by Dave Graham years ago. It deals of a really powerful line, with three strong moves, which make it 8B, and then a easy topout on a slab. The mantle is considered really easy respect the moves before, but I am really shiftless and clumsy on that kind of moves, in fact I felt it as hard as the previous ones.

I tried it two years ago but I did a fast session because the first move was too hard for me. This winter I was psyked to come back and the first day which I put my hands on it, the mantle was damp; so I decided to try the first part since it was completly dry. At the end of the session every move was done, except the mantle which I did in 2010 with fatigue. On friday the 28th I came back and all the boulders were basically wet again. After two hours of sun and magic wind, they became completly dry and climbable, in fact the motivation was high again. I tried the mantle and surprisingly I did it quickly.

For who doesn’t know mithril, I write a little description of its great movements. The first one is super cool, it starts with a crimp for the right hand, a pinch for the left and with a little balance you have to grab the first crimp. After that, it requires a lot of body tension whereas the second and the third move are two slaps with the right hand on a slopery rail in hard compression. The fourth hard move is the footwork to put the heel-hook on the edge,take this one with the left hand and then doing the mantle. After the attempt on the topout, I tried it from the bottom and I fell at the end taking the lip. I rested and I try to keep in a good shape my skin with the sandpaper, since mithril ruins it a lot.

The second go was the best one, I failed on the mantle when my hand was upside down on the edge. I knew that I could miss it in that point but I hoped that it wouldn’t be never happened. After that, my skin was so bad, I tried it twice in the evening and I fell again at the end because I touched the pad. The day was over and we went back home.

The day after I was really jaded by it, but I would have liked to finish mihtril before the year ended. So I took a weekend of resting and I went there on the last day of 2012. I woke up in the morning and I felt that I hadn’t rested enough, in fact when I reached Cresciano I was still weak. I was negative for the day, but I tried. I warmed up in the square of “la nave va” and after a half an hour of stretching I did some easy lines. The sensations were really bad. I climbed twice “dove osano i cachi” and I felt that my skin wasn’t ready enough to try mithril.

When I walked down after the easy climbings, I saw mithril in front of me and then I always gave a look to my skin shaking my head. I knew that I would have had just one possible attempt and then I could have picked up the pads and gone home. When I felt warm enough I moved under mithril and I brushed the holds carefully. it was a mental battle. I obviously knew that I could have done it, but I also knew that I would have had just one go.

I was so tense. I took some deep breaths and I started. I climbed it very well in the first part and I felt my mind off by every other though, I took the lip and I knew that I could have still failed it but I was super focus on it. I took the crimp on the slab, I turned my hand and the position was better than the other day. I did the mantle and I was so satisfied for the mental fatigue which I felt the days before and the moments before the climbing. The line didn’t give me a lot, it is not so logical, but the movements are so lovely and I like them very much.

After mithril me and my dad moved toward “kirk windstein”, a cool 8A which I waited for trying it over three years because I wanted to attempt it in flash style. The moment arrived and I put the pads under it. I missed it on the last move, I don’t know why but for sure one of the causes was my frozen fingers, in fact after 5 mins a strange green ball under my skin’s medium was born. Probably there was a litlle necrosis of some skin cells. I stopped to climb and we went to home putting an end to this climbing year.

The first climbing day of 2013 took place in Donnas. Me and Giulia went there in the afternoon on thursday the 3rd and my plans were to check the new line of Andrea Zanone called “doomsday”. This part of Donnas is behind mucca pazza’s sector and the path to reach is another one. After 25 mins of walking we were there and we met Luca, a friend of mine who had just climbed doomsday. I warmed up just on the right of this one since I saw a easy line with some chalk.

This boulder also has a possbile first part in a roof and I started to figured out the beta because it hit me. It looked hard, but after some goes I quitted and I move the pads under doomsday which I climbed on the third go. Andrea said that it could be 7C+ and probably it could be correct, but we have to wait for some repetitions to know it surely. Later, me and Luca tried again the project and we got the right beta to try it from the bottom. It is not so easy and it is pretty cool.

The first moves are quite simple, then there is one a bit harder and then the crux move. After that, the exit of this roof is a bit complicate because it isn’t the same of the easy warming up boulder, it requires a footwork to stay on. I did every single move and from the start I fell on the crux but I felt it possible. I hope to come back really soon because it is really worthy.

On friday the 4th, we went to varazze and I met two swiss guys which I knew under “scarred for life”. One of them is Nils, which stayed in varazze for few days and we decided to go to try alphacentauri 8B. He tried the stand start and he did every move, I think that the next time he can do it. Instead I wanted to understand the move of the sit start whereas the last time I had little time. After some minutes they were done, I had to link the two parts. I did many attempts but I always failed on the second move of the stand bacause for me it is really hard since it requires a lot of flexibility for the taller.

In the evening, when we walked back to the car we passed close to “il tempo delle favole” and the path goes on some rocks beside the river. Unfortunatly they were really humid and the soil was really slippery. I walked with attention but it wasn’t sufficient and I stumbled. I started to fall toward a pool of the river and I don’t know how I was able to stop just before falling into it. Unfortunatly my camera slipped from my pad and it went down into the puddle. I shouted more times “SHIT!!”,strangely without blasphemes and I didn’t want to belive at this unlucky fact. If it will be repairable, I hope to do the video of mithril and filming the new project in Donnas. If I will have to buy another one, probably it will pass more time to film them.